Three Simple Rules: Week 4

By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men:

The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2016), ¶ 104.

Introduction

Hey, church family and friends, I’m so glad that you have decided to join me for this Mid-Week Devotion. This is Wednesdays with Wesley with Brother Tim and we have been studying the book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living by Bishop Rueben P. Job. If you have missed any of these series of messages, you may catch up by going to our website: boonevillefirstumc.org and clicking the menu item “Ministries” and then selecting Midweek Devotionals. I have also included a direct link at the bottom of our screen for your convenience as well.

Before we get started, I would like to extend an invitation to you to join us this Sunday for worship at 10 am. We will have in-person worship which will be live-streamed for those who are unable to be present. We are still practicing a protocol of social distancing while gathering together and as always, I encourage you if you are in the vulnerable category or are experiencing symptoms of being sick to join us from home via technology.

This evening, we continue our study of the book by Bishop Rueben P. Job called Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living as part of a series of devotionals called Wednesday with Wesley. These simple rules came from John Wesley's General Rules of the Methodist Church. Drawing from the Bible and interested in living out the goal of salvation, John Wesley gave us these rules to encourage Christ-followers to become Christ-like.

These three rules, simply expressed are:

Do no harm

Do good

Stay in love with God (by keeping God’s ordinances)

Do Good

In this week's devotional, we are looking at the second of our three simple rules: "Do good." Do good. Two words, simply expressed, and yet central to our identity as followers of Jesus Christ. Can anyone make the case that followers of Christ should not do good? While I worry that the witness of Christians has moved away from "doing good" to "being judgmental" or "close-minded" or "hypocritical". Can we not admit how clear it should be to all who would follow Christ that we should do good?

Do Gooders

Unfortunately, doing good has become something of an epithet. "So and So ain't nothing but a do-gooder." To my shame, I remember in high school referring to a very fine, mature Christian young man that he was a "goody-two-shoes". I don't want to chase that rabbit in our devotion time together tonight but I have written a sermon on how his goodness and love shined a light on how I wasn't and it was my shame and an evil desire to pull him down that caused me to refer to him as a "goody-two-shoes".

So I hope that I don't have to make the case that Christ-followers should be in the business of doing good. But in case I do, let me point you to just a few of many, many passages of scripture:

3 John 11 NIV

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

Jesus' work was described by Luke this way, in Acts 10:38

Acts 10:38 NIV

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

How do we “do good”?

Now, I suspect that I don't have to convince you that Christ-followers should be in the business of "doing good". This rule is easily understood. The problem is that it is much harder to practice. So I won't spend any more time trying to convince you that Christ-followers should be "doing good". Instead, let's spend some time trying to understand how we can "do good".

Last week in our discussion of "Do no harm." we talked about a rule of passivity––of refraining to not do evil or harm to another person. I talked about how this can be a guideline or "fog line" that keeps us in our lane when the way in front of us is not clear.

But now we are moving from refraining to do something, the language of "do not" to the language of do. Here we do not speak of restraint. If "do no harm" keeps us in our lane then "do good tells us the direction we are to go.

But what specifically does this mean for us today? Here is how Wesley responded in The Character of a Methodist:

… this commandment is written in his heart, “That he who loveth God, love his brother also.” And he accordingly loves his neighbour [sic] as himself; he loves every man as his own soul. His heart is full of love to all mankind, to every child of “the Father of the spirits of all flesh.” That a man is not personally known to him, is no bar to his love; no, nor that he is known to be such as he approves not, that he repays hatred for his good-will. For he “loves his enemies;” yea, and the enemies of God, “the evil and the unthankful.” And if it be not in his power to “do good to them that hate him,” yet he ceases not to pray for them…. (“The Character of a Methodist,” in Works , Vol.8, page 343)

For John Wesley, “doing good”, or to use his language, “works of mercy” was a means of grace. That is a way in which we can participate in the outpouring of God’s grace both in our lives and in the lives of others. Doing good (or works of mercy) included but was not limited to:

feeding the hungry

clothing the naked

entertaining the stranger

visiting those that are in prison, or sick, or variously afflicted

instruct the ignorant

awaken the sinner

quicken the lukewarm

confirm the wavering

comfort the feebleminded

assist and support the tempted

contribute to the saving of souls from death

(From John Wesley’s sermon The Scripture Way of Salvation and The Large Minutes (lightly updated)

Doing good is a universal command.

To do good, according to Jesus and Wesley, is a universal command. It is not limited to those we like and who like us, nor is it limited to those who we think deserve it.

Luke 6:27–28 NIV

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Bishop Job reminds us in this book that is it also not just universal in that we must do good to all but that all must do good. No one is exempt from this rule.

Two obstacles to doing good.

We are passive.

The way I see it, is there are generally two obstacles to this rule. The first is our own passivity. We wait to do good. We do not set at the top of our agenda to “do good”. We don’t turn down the opportunity of doing good but we don’t go looking for it.

Doing good is not passive but proactive.

Doing good as Jesus intended of us is to be proactive. We do not need to wait to be asked. In my own life, real confession here, I've lived like "Given the opportunity, I'll do good." Last fall, for class, I had to read a book by Thomas Oden called The Good Works Reader which is a kind of survey of what the early church father and mothers had to say about "doing good".

Here is what I read that so deeply convicted me:

"We are called actively to seek out the needy, according to Andrew of Crete: "John teaches us that we should not wait for needy people to come to us but should rather go out and look for them. That is what Lot and Abraham did" (Andrew of Crete, quoted in Cramer, Catena in Epistolas Catholicas; 3 John 8)

"Similarly in Chysostom: "Paul urges that they not wait for those who are needy to come to them but that they seek out those who need their assistance. Thus the considerate man shows his concern and with zeal will perform his duty. For in acts of mercy it is not those who receive the kindness who are benefitted, so much as those who do the kindness. (Chrysostom, Homilies on Titus 6; Tit. 3:13-14).

I wrote in the margin of the book: I am ashamed to say that I had never thought about actively seeking out the needing. I have always been passive.

Wesley writes in his journal thoughts apropos to this:

There is scarce any possible way of doing good, for which here is not daily occasion…. Here are poor families to be relieved: Here are children to be educated: Here are workhouses, wherein both young and old gladly receive the word of exhortation: Here are the prisons, and therein a complication of all human wants. (“Journal from August 12, 1738, to November 1, 1739,” in Works , Vol. 1; page 181)

There is always an opportunity to do good, there is never not a time when we can, there is always opportunity.

Second Obstacle: When Is Enough Enough?

Always having the opportunity introduces us to the second obstacle and that is trying to understand how much "doing good" is enough? Well this question brings us to an examination of what self-denial really means.

Healthy self-denial vs. unhealthy self-denial

First of all, let me say that there is a difference between healthy self-denial and unhealthy-self denial.

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a group of pastors and one mentioned something that he had read recently about Jesus. Jesus, in his humility, never put himself down. Jesus was never arrogant or cocky but he never denied his own power nor did he display a lack of self-confidence.

Healthy self-denial isn't about denigrating or devaluing yourself. And while the life of a Christ-follower is a call to self-denial, remember that Jesus often retreated from the crowds to care for himself. Not every sick person was healed.

Doing good requires appropriate self-care.

Taking appropriate self-care and living selflessly are not diametrical. Living selflessly requires that we take appropriate self-care. We are choosing to live in the reign of God NOW but to do so requires us to acknowledge and remind ourselves that each one of us is the object of God's love. The closer our walk with God, the more we cleave to God and are guided by his Holy Spirit the more informed our work of "doing good" will be. We are called to do all the good we can not all the good that can be done. But a relationship with Christ that requires us to trusting in God more will increase our capacity to live fully and faithfully and we'll find that our ability to do all the good we can will certainly be multiplied by the magnitude of God's power. Again, let me restate, we are called to do all the good we can...not all the good that can be done.

So, do good. Don't be passive. Look for opportunity. Listen for the prompting of God's Holy Spirit to guide you in your work. Trust in the wisdom and power of God. Deny yourself but practice self-care as you love as God loves.

Your good may be rejected.

I didn’t allow for much time to do more than just acknowledge that sometimes there will be moments when we try to do good and our efforts are rejected. It may be ridiculed. It may be misused and abused. But do not forget why we “do good”. It is our response to follow Jesus. We can’t control what others do. We can only control whether we will be obedient to Christ’s invitation to follow Jesus.

Let us pray